Photo Ops with Papa

Why did we name this sweet little son Samuel? We felt so blessed with our two boys (Micah, named for "justice and mercy" and Paul, named for "walk humbly with God" -- Micah 6:8) and we were praying about whether or not God was calling us to have another child. Samuel means "God heard." God heard our prayers and gave us baby Samuel as the answer to them, together with the promise that God always has been and always will be faithful. In 1 Samuel 1:27-28 Samuel’s mother Hannah says,”For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” The God who hears can give us the same attitude about our sons. Another prayer for Samuel, Paul and Micah is from 1 Samuel 2:26, “Now the young man Samuel continued to grow in both stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.” Samuel's middle name is Monroe in honor of Anthony's dad, Harold Monroe Tongen, who came to visit us last week. In the above picture, Samuel Monroe is pondering his state of the union address.
Victory! Samuel Monroe's talented Great Aunt Jean, whose brother (Harold) and father (Sherwood) both have the same middle name (Monroe,) made this beautiful quilt; it is perfect for a boy with a name fit for a president.
Micah was learning how to ride his bike without training wheels last week.

We took Harold on a hike up to Stoney Man and got to enjoy a beautiful sight!

I need proof in Paul's baby book that he got good one-on-one time with his dad even when he had to share him with an older and a younger brother.

Micah gets quality and quantity time with Anthony, too.

Here's our newest family photo.
Harold enjoyed our front porch during his vacation so much that Sam was also convinced it is the place to be.
See what I mean?
Micah went to Worship Arts Camp for Kids at another church a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed practicing his clowning skills. Paul joined in on the funny fun, with some help from dad's face-painting at the children's museum.
Sam had smiles for his Auntrea!! Contrary to popular opinion that babies smile when they have gas, he always smiles when he is about to fall asleep. (He may like sleep as much as I do: this blog post is rather uncreative due to my current lack of it.)

Doesn't everyone have a photo of yourself in the bathtub as a child with your cousins?

Can you tell which one is Paul and which one is his cousin Jack?
Just when you thought you had it figured out which was which, they switched places!
The arboretum is a great place to document time with Grandpa "Papa" Tongen.
Harold has four sweet grandsons, if I do say so myself.
Oh yeah, he also has two really sweet kids. If you still weren't sure which one was Paul and which one was Jack, they are sitting on their respective parents' laps now.
We all got to enjoy some more good times with Grandma Jo, including some ring-around-the-rosie
and other fun giggles.
Micah aptly named this photo, "Doctor Samuel Tongen!" Samuel M. Tongen, Ph.D. is in the making.
One week ago, Anthony and Drew took Micah, Paul, Noah and Ben to the safari park and they all had a really great time!
They enjoyed feeding lots of animals and apparently held an ostrich egg.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions:

What would Paul do to me if I tried to take away his 4th of July parade candy? Maybe ask his buddy Mr. Joshua to take care of business for him.
Does Sam love his Grandma Jo? YES!
Why cloth diapers? I have chosen to return to cloth diapers after a one-child hiatus 1) as an effort to decrease our contribution to landfills 2) it is not all that inconvenient 3) in the midst of caring for a baby, which is a stage of second-guessing for me, I think that I am doing something right every time I change Sam's cloth diaper. [Nearly 10 times a day I get the sense that I am doing something practical to help God's world, in addition to the lofty goals of raising three men, helping Anthony, loving other people with the love of God, etc.]
How are Micah and Paul doing with the addition of Samuel? Great! They both adore their baby brother and show him love anytime his eyes are open.
Would you please take a picture of the boys' feet? Yes.Is Grandma Bev's barn growing? Yes.
Does Micah REALLY read to newborn Sam? Yes. Paul "reads" picture books to Sam, too. Elizabeth can vouch for it; she was one of the sweet people from our church who brought us dinner during the last couple of weeks.
What does Sam's personality seem to be? He loves to be held. He seems extroverted so far. He is also easy-going, so he doesn't cry much. Melody is another one of my sweet friends who showed her love for Sam by bringing us a meal and cuddling with him.

Do we feel supported? Yes! Speaking of our church family, this picture melts my heart, because I am so grateful for how many people (like Sara-Beth and Teresa) already love Sam so much.

Love from Pennsylvania

Samuel received love from Pennsylvania in many ways two weeks ago.

His Pitt dad showed sleepy Sam tough-love by annoying him to keep him awake during the daytime.

Sam's Lancaster, PA family (the Laceys) loved his big brothers by passing on Great-Grandpa Lacey's John Deere tractor.Grandma Bev (heralding from PA) loved all three boys by giving them seeds for their sunflower house, which is now taller than Micah and starting to bloom.

Introducing Sam to the Penn State neighbors, with thanks for the late-night emergency babysitting!
Great Aunt Marilyn sent loving gifts from PA.
Anthony's "Pennsylvania family," the Lengauers and McConnells, came to visit and meet Sam; here is Papa Jay loving him.
Pennsylvania sent most of its love to Samuel Monroe through Grandma Jo.

Dramatic Entrance

We thought that Micah and Paul were the members of our family who enjoyed drama; they are currently putting on a play about a doctor, a farmer and a flying cow. Their little brother decided to make sure that someone said, "Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Samuel Tongen!" Here's the story of how he made that happen with a half-hour labor. On Tuesday afternoon, my contractions were more sporadic than those I had been having as part of supposed false labor, so I didn't take them too seriously. We went on a long, family walk after dinner. When we got home at 8, I was surprisingly tired and laid down while Anthony put the boys to sleep. Kaboom! My water broke and my contractions were probably every minute apart (I didn't have time or the frame of mind to look at my watch.) We ran around the house (mostly Anthony, since I only had a minute here or a minute there with a coherent mind) and he called my mom (1 hour away) and the midwives. Thankfully, our next-door neighbor, Wendy, was willing and able to hurry over so the boys could keep sleeping and we could hurry to the hospital. The problem was that as she was walking me to the new van, I realized that our son was trying to come out in our driveway! Praise God that we live so close to the hospital! I was doing everything I could to hold "Skippy" in while Anthony drove the few minutes to get us there. An orderly quickly brought a wheelchair (side note: when I was in labor with Paul, I thought it was silly that they made laboring moms ride in wheelchairs, since it is more comfortable to stand during contractions.) She ran me through the ER lobby as Sam's head came out. We got to the hallway and I told her, "Really, he's out!" I pulled down my shorts to prove it and she screamed for a doctor. 10 women came running with eyes the size of saucers since indeed, our newborn son was fully laying on the wheelchair. I joyfully said "This is Samuel. He needs your help." Then, the doctor and Anthony appeared behind the crowd of shocked women. Yes, Anthony sadly missed the delivery of his third son while he was (quickly, mind you) parking the car. Dr. Ahmed Mahmood happened to be the same ER doc who stitched Paul's forehead in January! They took us up the elevator to the delivery room where Anthony got to cut the umbilical cord, I got stitched up, and Samuel got a 9 for his Apgar score.

Top ten things for which we are especially thankful to God:

10. For our amazing friends and family who are as excited about Sam's arrival as we are!!

9. We live close to the hospital.

8. Our brand new car smell still remains even though it was one contraction away from getting ruined.

7. The big brothers were in bed, so they didn't see the chaos or slow us down from getting to the hospital with less than 30 minutes of warning.

6. Tuesday's child is full of grace.

5. Samuel doesn't have Downs Syndrome, despite ultrasound concerns.

4. Samuel's kidneys and heart seem fine.

3. I didn't break my tailbone for the first time! It is so much easier to recover this way!

2. Samuel is part of our family.

1. God hears.